Bodyboarding down glacier rivers – the sport of Hydrospeeding

In the past we have featured some pretty crazy Bodyboarding activities away from the ocean, but today we bring you a Bodyboard pastime that is about as far out as you can possibility get. Two adventurers, Gilles Janin and Claude-Alain Gailland, decided to Bodyboard down Europe’s biggest glacier, the Aletsch Glacier in Switzerland.

A freezing cold river has cut it’s way into the glacier and it is this flow of ice water the pair decided to navigate. After checking for any hidden dangers and deep sections, the two donned some serious warm wetsuits, safety helmets and thick Bodyboards, known as Hydrospeed boards and set off on the seven mile glacial flow. The trip took them five hours and the the adventure was documented by David Carlier.

Whilst the sport of Hydrospeeding certainly looks fun, it requires a good knowledge of the glacier and a certain type of mentality to be able to immerse yourself in the freezing cold water for 5 hours. A selection of pictures from the day can be seen in a video clip below, but we cannot for the life of us, see what relevance the chosen soundtrack has to the adventure. Have you or would you ever try the sport of Hydrospeeding and could you stomach 5 hours of sliding down a glacier?